Chidambaram Lord Nataraja Temple...!

LORD NATARAJA (Image Courtesy-Google)

"Avanindri oar anuvum asaiyaadhu" a popular saying in Tamil, meaning "If not for him, not an atom moves" is the description to the omnipotence of Lord Shiva. Hindu Saivaites who worship this destroyer god as the authority of Death, Rebirth and Immortality term this temple as Boologa Kailaayam "The Kailas on Earth".


Temple of Lord Nataraja is located in Chidambaram-a beautiful town in the northern part of Tamil Nadu, India.  This temple-a symbol of Dravidian Architecture stands tall for its elegant beauty by holding a very long history. It’s one of the Panchabootha Sthalams where Lord Shiva is worshiped in the form of Sky or Space (Aakaya/Aakasa) and hence it’s also described as Aakaya Sthalam.

SOUTH GOPURAM & GARDENS IN 1st COURTYARD

The entire temple complex is enriched with its architectural beauty which is highly difficult to express them in words. Sculptures with various dance movements, wider Courtyards, Construction descending gradually towards the main Sanctum, Stupendous spacious designs which allow enough air and sunlight, ancient beautiful frescos on the ceiling of the shrines, Giant and Strong pillars of granites with enormous minute works, perfectly sketched drainage systems etc., are the salient architectural features of this temple. The dancing stature of Lord Nataraja here is a world famous one and regarded as a Cultural and Religious symbol of both Tamils and Hindus as well. This temple complex is located at the heart of this town over almost 40 acres (Courtesy: Wikipedia) of land. The entire landscape of the temple is squared (in fact a slightly irregular Rectangle) by the major arteries termed as Car Streets of Chidambaram on all four directions. The West Car Street is stated as the Commercial Street of Chidambaram. 

SPACIOUS 2nd COURTYARD INSIDE SOUTH GOPURAM

NANDHI BHAGWAN

The temple has five concentric Courtyards (Prakaarams), four of which are accessible to the public, the fifth being only accessible to the priests (Dheekshitars) since it lies within the walls of the main sanctum. The first Courtyard is full of gardens. The temple has four major Gateways or Towers (Gopurams) each in all the four directions immediately after the first courtyard. Each Gopuram is having seven levels.  Among all these four, even though the Gopuram located at South is called as Raja Gopuram the one at North is slightly tallest among all. The Gopurams are sculpted with all 108 dance movements (Karanas) of Bharatnattiyam. The second courtyard which actually starts from the boundary walls that embrace these tall Gopurams has shrines of various Gods and Goddesses, ‘Hall of 1000 Pillars’ and the holy ‘Temple Tank’. The third and fourth courtyards are located inside the main temple complex where the shrine of Lord Nataraja is located. The fifth courtyard houses the Sanctum Sanctorum (Citsabhai) of main deity.  

GOLD GILDED CITSABHAI (Image Courtesy-Google)

RAJASABHAI-THE HALL OF 1000 PILLARS

This temple contains five Sabhais which are nothing but halls elevated or at par with the floors. Citsabhai (Hall of Consciousness) is the Sanctum Sanctorum which houses the presiding deity Lord Nataraja. Kanakasabhai is the ritual and pooja hall in front of Citsabhai.  Nrithyasabhai is located opposite to the Citsabai is the place where the dance contest between Lord Nataraja and goddess Parvathi devi was held.  Rajasabhai -The Hall of 1000 pillars is located at the North-East direction in the fourth courtyard and Devasabhai  is located in the third courtyard houses the Marriage Hall, Yagasaalai etc. The Sanctum Sanctorum is a unique and marvelous architectural piece which is built over granite stones with its roof gilded with gold. Historical prints say the gilding was done at periods of the Chola kings Aditya and Parantaka.

NAVALINGA SANNIDHI

SIVAGAMA SUNDARI AMMAN ALAYAM

CORRIDORS INSIDE SIVAGAMI ALAYAM

This temple complex also abodes shrines for Lord Govindaraja Perumal (Lord Vishnu) and his consort Pundareega valli thaayaar. It’s obviously one of the unique features of the temple to have both the shrines of Lord Shiva and Vishnu under one roof. Very few temples on the Earth have this feature.  Both the shrines of Lord Vishnu and his consort are situated in the fourth courtyard very adjacent and opposite to the Sanctum Sanctorum of main deity. The shrine of Lord Govindaraja Perumal is called as Thiruchitrakootam which was sung by Alwars (Chief devotees of Lord Vishnu). It’s one of the 108 key shrines (Divyadesams) of Lord Vishnu. Also, this temple has separate shrines for Parvathy (Sivagama Sundari), Ganesh (Mukkurni Vinayagar), Murugan (Pandiyanayakan), Navalingam, Sundareswara & Meenakshi-the presiding deities of Madurai temple. All these buildings can be found in the second courtyard.

SIVAGANGAI THEERTHAM

SIVAGANGAI THEERTHAM WITH CITSABHAI AND TOWERS OF EAST & SOUTH ON ITS BACKDROP

ShivaGanga-is the Temple Tank (Theertham) situated on the north end of this temple, exactly adjacent to the hall of thousand pillars. Devotees use to take bath during morning and evening before they go for worship.  I’ve never seen this pond gone dry till today. It’s a great joy to feed fishes the puffed rice (pori) in the pond.  All the water used for cleaning the statues of gods and goddesses are drained to this pond which are the food for the fishes in this pond.

TEMPLE CAR PROCESSION IN CHIDAMBARAM (Image Courtesy: Google)

Out of six festivals (Thiruvizha) a year, the Margazhi Thiruvaadhirai and Aaani Thirumanjanam which are celebrated on December-January and June-July respectively are so special. As in other temples the festival here also starts with the flag hoist (Kodiyetram). 8 days later are the main celebrations like ‘Temple Car Processions’ (Ther Thiruvizha) & ‘The Dance of Bliss’ (Dharisanam) on consecutive days. Only during these auspicious festival days of Margazhi Thiruvaadhirai and Aaani Thirumanjanam the main deity along with other gods and goddesses like Murugan, Vinayagan and Sivagami are brought out of their Sanctum Sanctorum and placed on the separate temple cars of each deity. The East gate is the main entrance and exit through which the gods and goddesses are carried and placed on the Temple Cars. These cars which are most beautiful among all in Tamilnadu are drawn by thousands and thousands of devotees from East Car Street through South, West and finally come and land on the East where the procession actually started.

NATYANJALI FESTIVAL IN CHIDAMBARAM (Image Courtesy-Google)

The world famous Natyanjali festival which is dedicated to the main deity Lord Nataraja has been conducted by the administration of this temple every year for 5 days during ShivaRatiri. Though Natyanjali festivals are regularly celebrated all over the world originally it was first introduced in this temple. During these five days noted and greatest performers around the world come and perform here. This festival attracts huge inflow of foreigners in to this temple town during these days.

One can have the joy of shopping in well arranged small and big series of shops which sell Spiritual Books, Beautiful Portraits of Deities, Pooja and ritual things like Coconut, Flowers, Garland, Camphor, Incense Sticks and fruits etc. There are lot many good restaurants to have and enjoy excellent, tasty South Indian Cuisines.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

The South Gopuram is very near to my home and it takes in fact hardly 10 minutes of walking to reach the temple.  It renders always a divine peace while taking a walk on the corridors of this very vast temple. Now I’m recalling those golden days when I went regularly to the temple by holding hands of my parents. Those days which I enjoyed the charms of this temple and its sculptures by having delighted and jaw dropped chats with my Mom are still green in my memories. As I’ve been living out of Chidmabaram and Tamilnadu for almost 8 years, I couldn’t get the opportunity to visit the shrines quite often as I did in those days.  But still I use to go and have the enchanting feelings whenever I visit Chidambaram on my vacations. Walking on the corridors of this holy temple on yellow sunsets by hearing the mesmerizing hymns “Om Nama Shivaya” with gliding breeze will get oneself relieved from all other external things and worries.  

Just make a try to feel the same, friends…!

All the images except the Temple Car, Citsabhai  and Natyanjali festival were taken by me few years ago when i went there for my vacation. Also, while just grazing over the Youtube videos, I accidentally happened to see a footage of approximately 2 mins of length which shows this beautiful temple with a fantastic background score.  Here is the footage below.

Chidambaram- A Beautiful Temple Town…!

"Chidambaram", located near the shores of  Bay of Bengal, is a beautiful temple town falls under the district of Cuddalore which is placed in the northern part of Tamil Nadu. This is situated 240 km south of the capital city-Chennai. The land and the life of the people here are still truly innate and highly undisturbed by the rapid urbanization. Surrounded by more than hundreds of beautiful villages, it is not only a major landmark for the people who live around this temple city but a real remarkable spot for many good things like Pilgrimage, Business, Education for the people all around the world. It has its boundaries mainly well spread on either side of the stretch of NH-45A. Like every human, I’m also having my perennial memories and thirsts to get back into those childhood days I spent at my native town.

Geographically, it is located on the plains of the River Kollidam which is a distribution branch of River Cauvery. Temple of Lord Nataraja & its glories and the world famous dance festival “Nattiyanjali” are the things first strike on one’s mind right away when you talk about Chidambaram. In fact this town is the bottle neck for Hindu devotees to start their journey to other pilgrimage cities down south like Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Tanjore, Trichy, Madurai, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari.

"Temple of Lord Nataraja” is a divine pilgrimage centre for both the Shivaites and Vaishnavites. It’s a world famous tourist attraction which pulls huge international and national crowds in to it greatly.  It’s a symbol of majestic “Dravidian Architecture”. Though the temple has its account showing its development and growth on various periods by kings from different kingdoms like Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas & Pallavas, the significant contributions to this standing symbol of Dravidian Architecture were purely by Cholas who were called as the “Athenians of India”.

"Natarajar" means "King of Dance" in English which is the name of Lord Shiva as Cosmic Dancer. Tamil translation of the word “Temple” is “Kovil”. That’s why, this temple is called by the people around this area as “Natarajar Kovil”. This temple stands tall for its elegant beauty by holding a very long history. It’s one of the “Panchabootha sthalaa” where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Sky (Akaya) and hence it’s also described as “Aakaya Sthal”. The dancing stature of Lord Nataraja which one can see here is a world famous one. This temple is located at the heart of this town over almost 40 acres(Courtesy: Wikipedia) of land. This temple has four major gateways (Sannidhi) each at all the four cardinals. Each Gopuram is having seven levels. Walking on the corridors of this holy temple on yellow sunsets by listening to the mesmerizing mantra “Om Nama Shivaya” with lullabying breeze will get oneself relieved from all other external burdens and worries.

Other attractive temples in Chidambaram are "Thillai Kaaliamman" and "Keezhaththeru Mariyamman" both are dedicated to goddess “Parvathi” which draw thousands of devotees all across Tamil Nadu into them.

 

Apart from temples it has many attractive tourist sites in and around the town. “Pichavaram”- a unique Eco-Tourism centre, is a home to the largest Mangrove forest in the world. It is located just 15 km from this town. The 2800 acres of area covered by Pichavaram has number of beautiful islands in it. A boat ride on these dense thick mangrove forests is always an enjoyable and exhilarating experience to have. The thick Mangrove forests were the one which guarded many villages in this area from the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami on 2004 by appeasing its brutality by their strength. These forests and seashore have various type of habitats like Shores, Sands, Mud, Mangroves etc which attract different species of birds from foreign and other states of India. The “Dawn Fest”, a traditional festival called as “Vidiyal Vizha” in Tamil which showcases various interesting Cultural Programs, Boat Riding, Sea Food Festival, Traditional Music Performances, Yoga demonstrations, Sun Rise and Sun set events etc. is organized by “Tamil Nadu Tourism and Development Corporation” which attracts both International and Domestic visitors at larger extent.

“MGR thittu”, a small fabulous Islet village near this Pichavaram is a perfect, peaceful and coolest weekend hangout for youngsters and students. This village was completely washed out by the attack of Tsunami. Still it draws the tourists to have their feet down by its phenomenal beauty. Though the people who managed to escape from the attack were all displaced to the shore some who were raised on this island used to start their fishing daily from here.

"Annamalai University" which is having its splendid history and pride for its services of educating the people of India since the pre-independent days (ie. from very earliest of the 20th century) has its main house located here. This institution renders diversified education to the people of this nation with its glorious history. The literacy rate of this town has gone up to 84% has a significant contribution from this university.

The Greatest saints like “Ramalinga Adigalar” (Vallalaar) and “Sri.Ragvendira Swamigal“ lived in the villages called “Marudur” and “Bhuvanagiri”  respectively which are at closest vicinity to the town of Chidmabaram. 

     

It’s a land that widely yields Paddy & Sugarcane and also fertile to offer Coconut plantations. The “Lake Veeranam” which covers the area of dimensions of approximately 11km length and 4km width is the major reservoir for agriculture and potable needs of the people of Chidambaram. This lake gets water from “River Kollidam”. With both these “River Kollidam” and “Lake Veeranam” this particular part of the land looks always greener. But, nowadays like in other parts of the state the raising interest to adapt urbanization and increasing population and unpredictable/irregular monsoon conditions lead the people not to rely only on agriculture and vegetations. During summer, both these remain dry until the next monsoon.

One can find good lodging and boarding services everywhere in and around this temple town. Restaurants, Hotels, Lodges are evenly scattered across the town. There are lot many good Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian restaurants to have and enjoy variety of excellent, tasty South Indian cuisines. Few of them are Moorthy Café, Double A restaurant, Hotel Mansrover, Pandiyan Mess, Kamala Mess, Chain hotels of Thillai Sri Ganesh. “Puththur Jayaram Hotel" located on the national highway NH-45A in the direction to Mayiladuthurai is literally an important stop for those who really want to taste the delicious, mouth watering Non-Vegetarian meals including sea foods.

Chidambaram is famous for its exquisite handmade Gold and Silver ornaments. There are specific families in Chidambaram who have been involving in this business since many generations. These techniques of making ornaments have been taught from one generation to the other within those same families. They are highly skillful in this art to craft unique and excellent products with artistic, peculiar and wonderful designs. These ornaments which are made by them have the greatest reputations and recognitions across the globe since a long way back.

Chidambaram is on the Chennai-Trichy national highway. This is well connected by rail and road with Trichy, Madurai, Chennai, etc. The nearest Airport is at Trichy which is 168 km from the town.

I’d like to recommend you the readers to watch out this Youtube video footage titled as “Cholans-The Athenians of India” which will somewhat explain what the “Dravidian Civilization” means and how it’s still kept alive in that soil…! This is a video footage created by BBC.  This will give a short glimpse why and how the life of the people from this soil has spun with the word called “Chola”.

(Images & Videos courtesy-Google & Youtube)